


i probably should’ve stayed inside my house

by sond_sie



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Alternate Universe, Established Relationship, Fainting, Fluff, Hospitals, Hurt/Comfort, Illness, M/M, lol this sounds srs but its not i promise, solo artist tyler
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-03
Updated: 2016-12-03
Packaged: 2018-09-06 05:44:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8737078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sond_sie/pseuds/sond_sie
Summary: "josh’s head pounded, but he grinned from his seat at the back, his heart swelling with pride. the girls around josh that recognised him shot him glances every few seconds, wondering what was happening."or, solo artist tyler has his biggest concert yet, and his boyfriend josh is determined to see it live. even if that means passing out after one song.





	

**Author's Note:**

> woo 3am fics!!!! as always hope you have fun frens

josh rolled away from the sunlight shining through his bedroom window, tucking his head into the chest of the warm body next to him. he groaned quietly, a dull throbbing already developing in his skull. tyler stirred, and an arm wrapped around josh’s waist and sleepily tugged him closer. josh enjoyed the embrace for a brief moment before he suddenly coughed, moving onto his back and out of tyler’s reach, an arm covering his face as he hacked helplessly. the movements made josh’s head hurt more and he cringed, eyes desperately trying to block out the light. tyler, fully awake now, leant over and pressed his lips softly to josh’s forehead.

“not any better, then?” tyler asked gently. josh simply groaned again in reply, burying his head in the pillow to try and stop it from pounding. tyler took in the scene before him sadly, never enjoying times when his boyfriend was sick. he hopped out of their warm bed to find some tablets for josh to take. he returned a few minutes later with the pills and a glass of water. josh was still buried under the blankets as he approached. he placed the glass on the nightstand and sat down on the edge of the bed.

“come on babe,” tyler lifted josh into a sitting position. tyler moved behind him, legs on either side of josh’s. josh leaned back on his chest, whimpering. tyler reached over and grabbed the water again. “take these,” he said and gave josh the pills. josh took his time, clearly finding it hard to swallow. when he finished he settled into tyler’s chest again, letting his head loll back.

“i feel worse than yesterday,” josh mumbled, voice rough, fiddling with tyler’s hands which were wrapped around his waist. tyler kissed his temple sympathetically, josh’s soft pink curls brushing his face.

“i’m sorry. this sucks,” tyler said and rubbed comforting circles on josh’s arms.

“at least i have you to look after me all day,” josh smiled slightly before he felt tyler stiffen behind him. he turned around to find tyler looking guilty. “what?” josh croaked.

“um, i have the show today, remember?” tyler asked him hesitantly, and josh suddenly felt a lot worse.

“oh god,” he turned back to lean on tyler again, tired from sitting up. “i’m still coming,” he stated firmly.

“i don’t think you can josh,” tyler replied, trying to keep the disappointment out of his own voice. he would love nothing more than to have josh watching him at his first sold out show, but he could see there was no way josh could even stand up for very long in his state. josh was quiet for a long time, and tyler started to think that he’d fallen asleep. however, he heard small sob come from the boy on top of him, and quickly turned him in his arms. josh had tears steadily rolling down his cheeks, overwhelmed by how terrible he felt physically and the thought of letting tyler down. tyler held josh’s face in his hands, wiping away the tears with his thumbs.

“i c-can’t miss it-“ josh began weakly but tyler cut him off by softly pressing his lips to the older boy’s. josh leaned into the kiss for a second before pulling back. “you’ll get sick,” he murmured.

tyler pulled josh back into his arms, lying down on the bed and cuddling him into his chest.

“it’s okay josh. you’ve been to every single show and really this one isn’t any different,” tyler tried to reassure his boyfriend but they both knew that this one actually _was_ kind of different. tyler had sold out the whole venue, and he’d also heard there were representatives from some music labels coming to check him out. tyler was getting scarily close to his dream of signing a record deal and he would have preferred it if josh could be by his side at the show that could change everything. but, he also didn’t want josh to drop dead while trying to support him, so he had to convince him that everything would be okay. josh sniffed again and tyler rubbed his hands soothingly up and down his bare spine. “i’ll get mark to film everything and i’ll show you as soon as i get home, okay? don’t be sad baby, everything will be fine,” tyler cooed and josh tried to believe him, eyes falling closed as he was pulled back into sleep.

—

josh napped throughout the day, curled up next to tyler who gave him more medicine and occasionally tried to feed him soup or noodles. at 3pm tyler had to start getting ready to leave for soundcheck. he gathered all of the things he needed and took them to his car. he came back to say goodbye to josh, who was still wrapped in blankets and looking sickly pale. he brushed the pink strands of hair back from josh’s forehead.

“i have to go now, are you gonna be okay?” tyler asked, looking down at his boyfriend fondly. josh looked up at him sadly.

“yeah, i’ll be fine,” josh stood up slowly and wrapped tyler in a hug. “you’re amazing, ty. this show is going to be the start of something huge, i just know it. i love you so much,” josh whispered and tyler buried his face in josh’s neck and held him tightly. he hadn’t done a show without josh there for years and was pretty upset he couldn’t come to this one. he didn’t know how well he’d perform without his biggest and most important fan supporting him. tyler curled a hand around josh’s neck and pressed his lips to josh’s, sighing. the kiss was sweet and gentle and only lasted a few seconds before tyler separated them.

“i love you too,” he kissed josh’s cheek before the tired boy sat down again. “i’ll see you later,” he said as he headed towards the bedroom door. he heard a faint ‘good luck’ and smiled as he stepped outside.

—

josh woke up sweaty and coughing a couple of hours later. confused, he searched for tyler for a minute before remembering why he wasn’t beside him. his stomach turned as he imagined his boyfriend, only 20 minutes away, playing the most important show of his life. it made him physically sick thinking about tyler being up there and not seeing it himself. josh checked his phone, 6.30pm blinking back at him. tyler’s set had only started half an hour ago, he thought, he could totally make the second half. josh shakily stood up and tested walking towards the bathroom. he made it, and turned on the shower. if he ended up sitting on the floor under the spray for five minutes to recover, no one had to know.

by 6.50pm josh had dried his hair and pulled on some clothes, t-shirt still damp from his skin post-shower. he had also dragged himself into an uber, telling them the address after getting a slightly concerned glance from the driver. at 7.25pm josh had made it to the venue. all he had to do now was get inside. he made his way to the familiar back entrance, having been here with tyler many times before. however, this time he couldn’t push his way through the heavy door as a large man stood barring the doorway. he looked surprised to see josh stumbling towards him and held out his hands in warning.

“hey buddy, can’t come in this way,” the bulky guy said slowly, assuming josh was drunk. josh almost felt like it, the way everything seemed to move slowly and how it took him a minute to understand what was happening.

“i’m not - i’m josh,” he started, and the guy gave him an unimpressed look. “i’m with the artist, tyler joseph? i’m his boyfriend, josh.” he tried again, but he was met with laughter this time.

“good try man,” the guy didn’t budge, and there was no way josh could fight his way through. josh thought of calling someone to come get him, but the show was halfway through and they’d all be busy. he turned from the guard, trying to fight the lump in his throat. josh decided to try the front entrance, thinking maybe he could buy himself a ticket. he groggily made it up the steps, breathing heavy with the effort. when he reached the top there was one woman working at the booth. she also looked shocked to see someone trying to enter so late.

“hi i’m - can i get a ticket?” josh breathed out, leaning a hand on the wall for support.

“sorry honey, we’re all sold out tonight. really exciting news actually, finally someone from here in columbus filling this place,” she smiled but josh couldn’t return it. he was never going to get in. as he straightened to walk back down the steps the doors to his left swung open, the dull sounds of the concert becoming increasingly louder until the door closed again. two young girls had left, each wearing a t-shirt with tyler’s logo on it. one of them spotted josh and stopped in her tracks.

“josh?” she asked with a high voice. josh stared at them for a moment before shaking his head, smiling.

“uh, hi,” he greeted them. the girls barely contained squeals and the woman in the booth watched them interestedly.

“what are you doing out here?” the other girl asked as they came closer. josh was too tired to come up with an excuse.

“i actually wasn’t feeling great, but i’ve decided to come watch now. only problem is, it’s sold out and i can’t get past security,” josh looked away sadly, and the girls picked up on it. one of them dug around in her bag before holding out a crumpled ticket.

“here, take mine. we have to go home early because of strict parents, y’know?” she rolled her eyes, still holding out the ticket. josh took it carefully. the girl continued shakily, “one condition, can i get a hug?” josh laughed and held out his arms. it was the least he could do. after two tight hugs and quick goodbyes, josh finally made his way indoors. his phone said 8pm, which meant tyler only had 30 minutes left, but it was enough for josh. the girls had said their seats were well up the back, so he made his way steadily up more stairs. he’d covered his head with his hood, wary of being spotted by many people because of his pink hair. he could hear some girls saying his name, but no one stopped him. he finally slumped into the seat on his ticket, and the girl next to him stared at him with wide eyes. before she could say anything, tyler caught their attention.

“this next song is dedicated to someone i care about. he couldn’t be here tonight,” tyler paused, getting up from behind the piano and picking up his ukulele. “but, i still love you josh!” tyler shouted before launching into the song, screams from the fans echoing around the hall. josh’s head pounded, but he grinned from his seat at the back, his heart swelling with pride. the girls around josh that recognised him shot him glances every few seconds, wondering what was happening. josh was only focused on tyler, on how well he was playing and how _happy_ he looked. he couldn’t believe how far tyler had come, except for the fact that he really could, as he’d witnessed all the hard work tyler had put in over the years from right beside him. he couldn’t stop smiling, but a sudden jolt of dizziness made him double over in his seat. the girl beside him jumped, clearly worried. josh tried to focus on tyler’s words to steady his breathing.

 _i don’t care what’s in your hair, i just wanna know what’s on your mind._  
_i used to say i wanna die before i’m old, but because of you i might think twice._

josh felt a small hand on his back and looked up into worried eyes beside him.

“do you want me to find help?” the girl asked, brown eyes deep with concern. josh had clearly underestimated how bad he looked, judging by her reaction. as he looked towards the stage and realised he couldn’t even make out tyler’s figure anymore, he realised he’d also clearly underestimated how bad he _felt._

“josh?” another figure appeared next to him, and she gripped his arm gently. it all suddenly became too much, tyler’s normally comforting words rebounding in his aching head and too many people looking at him worriedly. he stood up, ready to leave again. however, he didn’t make it that far. everything faded away to black before he even made it out of his seat.

—

tyler was _killing it_ tonight. he smiled to himself before taking a quick swig of water, ready to perform the last song of his set. he’d just finished ’we don’t believe what’s on tv,’ a song he always enjoyed. it was bittersweet tonight, with no josh to lock eyes with during it, but he knew his boyfriend would be proud of him. he sat behind the piano again, ready to show these people all he had left, and began to play ‘trees.’

—

tyler panted, exhausted from his drum solo, but really from the whole show. his fans were screaming louder than he’d ever heard them before and he took a moment to soak it all in before bowing.

“thank you all so much. i can’t explain how much you all mean to me, i do this all for you,” tyler said into his mic. they screamed again, but he understood the feeling behind it. he went to say his final goodnight when someone in the front row caught his attention.

“why is josh up the back tonight?” she yelled, and tyler squinted, confused. the fan held out her phone, and tyler gestured to one of his security members to pass it to him. when tyler grabbed the phone he saw a tweet with a photo of josh attached to it. it was taken from a few rows away, but the caption read ‘josh dun just walked past me at tyler’s concert???? and he looked like he was about to fall over what is happening?!’ tyler gasped, looking out into the crowd in the hope of magically spotting his boyfriend among the masses.

“tyler!” another voice caught his attention. she sounded worried. tyler gulped and sought her out along the barricade. she pointed at her phone and shouted, “my friend called and said she was right next to him, and she said he passed out!”

the blood drained from tyler’s face as he thought about josh. josh, who got anxious in front of a lot of people and hated attention. josh, who had just _passed out_  in the crowd somewhere. why was he even in the crowd? was he okay? tyler backed away from the stage, handing the girls phone to someone. he offered a meek ’goodnight’ before rushing backstage. he met mark’s eyes, who could tell something had gone wrong despite not hearing the interaction between tyler and his fans. tyler was by his side in seconds.

“i have to find josh,” was all he said.

—

it wasn’t as simple as it sounded. tyler couldn’t exactly go outside and look for josh, or whoever was looking after him, as he’d get swamped by people leaving the venue. he did the only thing he could think of and took out his phone while mark checked with the crew to find out what was happening. tyler opened twitter and typed a quick ‘can someone tell me if they know what happened? where is josh?’ and pressed tweet. within seconds he had notifications, but not from anyone who knew what was happening. if anything, he’d attracted all his fans who had no idea what he meant and caused more confusion. finally, he saw someone who looked calm and checked their reply. she’d attached a picture of an ambulance, captioned ‘i followed the security that carried him out, they called the ambulance.’ he could tell it was real and typed ‘thanks fren’ in reply. he shuddered at the thought of josh all alone in the hospital, but he was grateful that his boy was being looked after safely. he got up to find mark again. they had to leave, _now._

—

josh blinked his eyes open slowly, feeling extremely tired. he squinted at the harsh white lights above him, turning his head to take in his surroundings. he noticed the figure of tyler next to him, a hand gripped tightly in his own. when tyler noticed the movement he quickly moved his other hand up to brush josh’s cheek.

“hey there,” he greeted softly. josh closed his eyes at the soothing touch.

“hey,” he whispered, “what’s going on?” he opened his eyes again as tyler slipped back onto the chair, hand still holding josh’s own.

“i could ask you the same thing,” tyler chuckled lightly. “you decided to go on a bit of an adventure, i think.” tyler finished, looking at josh, small smile playing on his lips.

“oh,” josh replied as his brow furrowed, trying to remember exactly what he’d done. his throat was sore and his limbs felt heavy, which reminded him of how terrible he’d felt at tyler’s concert-

 _oh._ josh met tyler’s eyes, embarrassed. “tyler, i’m so sorry,” he choked and tyler was suddenly serious, eyes full of concern.

“hey, no. this isn’t your fault. i should’ve known you wanted to come so much, or better yet i shouldn’t have left you alone at all. you sound terrible, j. and you look half dead,” tyler said quietly. normally he’d be joking, but the sight of josh unmoving in the hospital bed when he walked in was still fresh in his mind.

“i’m sorry,” josh repeated. tyler shook his head before he suddenly stood up.

“do you think you can move? i wanna squeeze in,” tyler gestured to the bed, and josh tried his best to slide across. eventually tyler was able to get under the covers with josh, and it occurred to josh that tyler was getting quite comfortable, like he was going to sleep there.

“ty, what time is it?” he asked.

“past midnight, you were out for a really long time,” tyler replied as he shuffled, settling in next to josh and wrapping an arm around his shoulders. “i was so scared, josh. the fans told me right after i finished and i didn’t know where you were, who was looking after you or what was wrong. turns out it was just a mixture of exhaustion and dehydration,” he talked quietly, turning his head towards josh’s. josh sighed.

“it was stupid, but i couldn’t miss this one. it was too important,” josh moved his head slightly to look at tyler, and saw the affection in his eyes.

“you’re ridiculous,” tyler removed his arm from under josh and leaned up on his elbow, face inches away from josh’s. “but that’s why i love you,” he whispered into the space between their mouths before closing the gap. josh responded the best he could, head still foggy from fatigue. tyler realised and pulled back, turning on his side and wrapping an arm around josh’s middle. before they drifted off to sleep tyler heard josh mumble something drowsily and grinned into his boyfriend’s shoulder.

“was worth it, ty, you’re gonna be a superstar.”

**Author's Note:**

> this got so sappy but y'know what blame the frickin' dodgeball tournament those small BABIES


End file.
